


ass-u-me.

by rachelbee



Series: Weekly Challenge [9]
Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Timeless Weekly Challenge, according to gail, goat cheese
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-28 04:05:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10823397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rachelbee/pseuds/rachelbee
Summary: Written for week nine (!!) of officerparker's weekly challenge on tumblr. You know what they say about assuming...





	ass-u-me.

**Author's Note:**

> Credit for the title goes to my lovely pal, bethylark <3 I thought she was joking, but it actually really fits.

Lucy was smiling.

Not only that; she was humming something under her breath. She was clearly happy, but Rufus couldn’t figure out why.

He wondered if (hoped) she and Wyatt had finally confessed their feelings after months of dancing around each other, but Wyatt seemed normal, and not as deliriously happy as Lucy. They had both finished changing into their modern clothes after their most recent mission and were waiting for Lucy so they could debrief.

Jiya and Seth were going over the simulator and Wyatt was just standing there lost in his thoughts, it seemed.

“So,” Rufus began, sidling up next to Wyatt. He looked up at him. “Why’s Lucy so happy?” Wyatt frowned.

“What?” he asked, shaking his head. “I don’t know, I hadn’t noticed.” Rufus chuckled.

“Yeah, man, she’s like, _humming_ in the dressing room right now, and she’s been all smiley since we got back from the 1800s,” Rufus supplied as Lucy walked out of the wardrobe dock, all smiles again, and headed for the conference room. Wyatt frowned softly in her direction.

“I’m not sure,” he trailed off. Jiya and Seth had perked up when Lucy walked out of the dressing room and had been listening to the conversation.

“I’m sure I’d be excited to be out of the 1800s,” Jiya teased and Rufus chuckled. Seth shrugged.

“Maybe she got laid.”

The room went silent, and both Jiya and Rufus turned expectantly to Wyatt, whose expression had gone stone cold.

That _had_ been Rufus’ initial thought, but Wyatt wasn’t sharing any details. And, if that _was_ , in fact, why Lucy was so happy, it hadn’t been with Wyatt, judging by the look on his face. Rufus ducked his head, embarrassed by Seth’s bluntness as Jiya quickly pulled Seth away from the two men, back to the computers.

“Come on,” Rufus urged Wyatt out of his thoughts. “Let’s go debrief.” Wyatt nodded tersely before nearly storming off to the conference room.

The debrief was short and slightly awkward.

Lucy’s smiles and general happiness had died down, but Wyatt was in a worse mood than before and gave simple one-word replies and never acknowledged Lucy. After Agent Christopher was satisfied, she let them go, and they all gathered their things.

“So, drinks?” Rufus asked as both Wyatt and Lucy headed for the door.

Wyatt took one hard look at Lucy, whose smile had returned, and shook his head. “I’m good. You two go ahead.” Lucy smiled apologetically at both men.

“Actually, I can’t either. I’ve got plans,” she muttered, shrugging as she shouldered her bag. “But, I’ll see you guys later!” She grinned at both men, seemingly oblivious to Wyatt’s mood, and walked through the door.

Rufus and Wyatt both watched her wave goodbye to Jiya as she left the building, presumably to leave Mason Industries altogether. Rufus turned to Wyatt, noticing he’d gone paper white at this point.

“On second thought,” he murmured, turning back to Rufus. “I think I could use that drink, after all.”

* * *

They had just left the bar, and Wyatt was almost himself again. He hadn’t talked about Lucy at all; they’d actually talked about Star Wars. They were in downtown, a street lined with bars and coffee shops scattered all over, between hole-in-the-wall clothing stores and music shops. It was a nice area and the team found themselves down there often.

Particularly, the female member of their team, it seemed.

Right across the street, leaving a coffee shop, Rufus noticed Lucy. She was with a tall man with dark hair and glasses, and they were laughing about something. Rufus stopped in his tracks, frowning. Wyatt, unfortunately, noticed the distraction and followed Rufus’ gaze.

“Who do you think he is?” Wyatt asked tersely, focused entirely on Lucy now, his arms crossed over his chest. Rufus floundered for a response as they watched the man bend down with Lucy’s hand in his, placing a kiss on the back of it.

Wyatt immediately stiffened next to him.

Lucy gently pulled her hand back, and while Rufus was about to point out that was a good sign, Wyatt had already started making his way across the street, nearly fuming. The man was walking away and Lucy had turned around to head back towards her car when she noticed Rufus and Wyatt.

Again, she was blissfully unaware of Wyatt’s current state.

“Oh, hey! What are you guys doing here?” she asked, smiling up at both of them. Her smile did, at least, falter a bit when she saw Wyatt’s expression. “What’s wrong?” she asked him gently, and Wyatt nodded in the direction of the man.

“Who was that?” he asked, and Rufus suddenly wished there were more trees in San Francisco for him to hide behind. This was going to get ugly fast. Lucy turned around, frowning.

“Oh, Nate?” she asked, pointing back to where the man had walked off. She laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, he’s-”

“How long have you been seeing him?” Wyatt continued, frowning down at her. Lucy froze, her eyebrows raised.

“What?” she mumbled, frowning up at him now. “I’m not, we were just grabbing coffee.”

Wyatt scoffed, and Rufus could tell this was going to escalate quickly. He tried to think of other places they could take this when Lucy suddenly crossed her arms as well, so they looked like two middle-schoolers arguing in the hallway.

“Why should it matter to you, anyway?” she asked, properly angry now. Wyatt laughed humorlessly, staring her down.

“Why should it _matter_? Dammit, Lucy why do you think? It matters because I-”

He paused, catching himself, and both Rufus and Lucy were paying very close attention now as Wyatt suddenly deflated, his arms going slack at his sides, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“What?” Lucy asked, taking a step closer, frowning softly up at him. “Why does it matter, Wyatt? Tell me.” She tilted her head, staring at him, but he refused to meet her eyes.

Rufus suspected they’d completely forgotten he was there, so he took a seat on a bench nearby so he could continue to watch this play out.

If only he had some popcorn.

Lucy sighed, shaking her head as she took one more step into Wyatt’s personal space. She placed a hand on his arm, her thumb brushing back and forth, soothing. “I know you’re still not over Jessica,” she whispered, and Wyatt’s gaze snapped up to meet hers. “And that’s okay, really.” She gently squeezed his arm before letting go to run her fingers frustratedly through her hair. “But, gosh, Wyatt, it’s like we don’t even talk anymore. Every moment is like walking on eggshells with you and I just don’t know where we stand.” Lucy sighed, and the frown was ever present on her brow as she looked up at Wyatt. “I don’t know what happened or what changed, and I don’t know what I did, or if I said something, and I want to make it better, and I just-”

In true cliche fashion, Wyatt silenced Lucy once and for all, ending her confusion altogether with a kiss. One hand held her face, his thumb brushing against her cheek, while the other gripped her waist, his fingers digging into the fabric of her shirt. Her arms wound around his neck, her hands sliding up into his hair, pulling him closer to her. Lucy sighed into the kiss as Wyatt coaxed her mouth open, gently sliding his tongue against hers, tasting her for the first time.

They had definitely forgotten Rufus was there.

Instead of making it even more awkward for them, Rufus stifled the exclamation of _finally_ that was bubbling up inside of him and quietly made his way back to where he’d parked his car.

Wyatt could probably grab a ride home with Lucy.

* * *

Lucy was smiling, again.

Although this time, Wyatt’s smile matched hers. They were sitting at the bar they frequented after missions nowadays, Wyatt’s arm slung over Lucy’s shoulders, holding her close. Rufus grinned at the obvious happiness of his two friends. Even though he had lost the bet with Jiya (they couldn’t have waited one more week?), it was worth it to see Wyatt and Lucy so deliriously happy together.

“Dr. Preston,” a voice called out, and the trio turned in their booth to find a man with dark hair and glasses, smiling down at Lucy.

Rufus recognized this man. He was the same man that had been with Lucy two weeks ago, when she’d been smiling so much. Wyatt stiffened as Lucy turned in his arms to smile up at the man.

“Nate! What are you doing here?” she asked, grinning as he moved to stand at the edge of the table. Wyatt’s arm tightened around her shoulders as Nate got closer.

“Ah, Sarah wants some of their famous crab puffs,” Nate explained. Lucy nodded, understanding, then threw her hand out, gesturing to Nate.

“Guys, this is Nate Baxter, my temporary replacement at Stanford!”

Both Wyatt and Rufus’ attention snapped to Lucy at that.

“Wait, what? _That’s_ who this is?” Wyatt asked her, turning to face her. She gave him a knowing smirk, nodding. “I thought-”

“I _know_ what you thought,” she whispered, leaning into him. “Nate’s wife, Sarah, is pregnant with their first child, and he was thrilled to be chosen for the job.” She smiled up at Nate as Wyatt relaxed back into the booth, his arm curling further around Lucy. “And I am just _ecstatic_ that they’ve found someone who’s as passionate about history as I am.” Nate chuckled, nodding at the two men.

“And literature,” he reminded her. “I’m a firm believer in the old adage that chivalry is not dead,” he explained. Rufus sat up straight.

“Is that why you kissed her hand?” he asked suddenly. Nate chuckled, ducking his head.

“Yes, it was an inside joke from dinner with Sarah a few nights before.” Wyatt turned to Lucy.

“You had dinner with his wife?” he asked her. Lucy nodded slowly, smirking up at him.

“Yes, I had dinner with Nate and his wife, Sarah, to meet him and get a gauge for how involved he was going to be in my class. I couldn’t be happier with the college’s decision,” she gushed, smiling up at Nate again. He chuckled, blushing.

“Well thank you, Dr. Preston. I really should be grabbing those crab puffs, though. Pregnant wives aren’t exactly patient things,” he mumbled, waving goodbye as he headed to the bar to order his dinner to-go.

Wyatt and Rufus were silent as Lucy smiled knowingly at both of them. She turned to Wyatt, raising an eyebrow.

“Okay, fine,” he chuckled, leaning in to kiss her softly. “I’m sorry,” he whispered against her lips. She giggled, and Rufus smiled at the pair.

“It’s okay,” she replied, shrugging. “You’re kind of cute when you’re jealous.” Wyatt rolled his eyes at that.

“I was _not_ jealous.”

Both Lucy and Rufus were quick to counter that statement.

**Author's Note:**

> Also, May the 4th be with you!


End file.
